Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All

MrMattDiehl wrote:Don't know how that's questionable, exactly... People care what public figures think, especially interesting ones. Most of the interesting/semi-controversial shit Steve says gets published somewhere; it's been that way since fanzines were mimeographed. The forum is also linkable without password... If this was all meant to be private, you couldn't link to it, right? At least that's how it appears... Anyways, Steve, how do you feel about that? (And no, I didn't put it on The Stranger...)

To clarify, I think it's fair, I just think it's weasel-like behavior.

How come when it's us, it's an abortion, and when it's a chicken, it's an omelette? - George Carlin

Don't care. Obviously I care about discussions on this board more than elsewhere, because I spend much less time elsewhere, but like most internet things, what wants to happen happens and there's no point in even forming an opinion about it.

Personally I find it kind of funny in a sad and pathetic way that there are people who write about music monitoring this site for juicy quotes. To have a conversation amongst friends and aquaintances posted to a blog and then "tweeted" about is beyond ridiculous, regardless of how public the conversation is. There is just way too much sharing on the fucking internet.

What would be better is if the tourists actually engaged with people here instead of being gawkers. But, whatever. Knock your socks off.

kerble wrote:I'm far more impressed at the 'roll your own' ethos that goes throughout their art. I really like that they make their own beats and videos. they do their own album art, build their own websites, mix their own records, and have an insane adeptness with social media stuff and other DIY components. they're shrewd and manipulative, and it represented a signifier of a paradigm shift for young rappers.

There are thousands of kids making their own music, videos, etc., with cheap modern technology, kicking their shit all over the net. The only distinction is that most of them don't get big. Being young makes the interwebbing easier for them to maneuver, and like flaneur said

Flaneur wrote:4Chan: The Band.

really works for them. Maybe you can credit OFWGKTA's particular ingenuity for succeeding where others have failed, but the method of media itself is not unique.

I actually agree with you completely. they didn't invent anything new. their music isn't anything new. I just think it's pretty rad seeing the DIY thing "work out" for some kids. I know that I put that in quotes, as fame and success aren't really things the folks of this board shoot for when they create, but it might inspire some other kids to do the same, and make music that isn't compromised. I mean, the records, to me, just sound like a "what's grosser than gross?" competition between some friends. and it got popular.

Sure, it's contrived and juvenile, but whatever. I find plenty of substance in the music I listen to regularly, so I don't have to look for it in something like Odd Future. I may not love it. I may not think the message is any good, but I'm for it. get yours, little twerps.

IDNG wrote:Remember "Money for Nothing" almost 30 years ago with its "faggot" part that's now excised?

Hi,

Before I say anything, I thought I might address this particular quote:

By the way, I can't believe I'm going out of my way to say this, but the use of the word "faggot" in that particular song obviously comes from an ignorant, third-person voice within the narrative of the song. I mean, it's so obvious that it falls outside the realm of the current discussion. Also, it's embarrassing to have to get into the voice, narrative, and psychology of "Money for Nothing".

Sorry I'm so late to the discussion, but I felt that needed pointing out...

Odd Future et al. is kind of exciting, as a DIY concern, but I don't find them to be that ground-breaking. They're fun, in their own way, but I'm probably too old to get the "joke". Which is fine. As a younger man, I enjoyed all kinds of misogynistic, homophobic, etc., hip hop. I'm thinking, at this moment, of Ice T's "Original Gangster" -- always loved that record. I'm not sure I would feel the same way about that record now, if it were released today and I was hearing it for the first time as the middle-aged man that I am...

Why not? I used to do a lot of dumb shit with that record as the soundtrack:

Like, cruise around slowly down the streets of the small South Dakota town I lived in, with a crew of dudes with water guns, in an old conversion van. Eventually we would roll up on a middle-aged couple out for a walk with their dog. We'd creep up on them, then open the sliding side door. Our buddy, who was one of the 5 black people in town, would say, "You know Lucifer? Cuz' you're about to meet him!" and then he would spray them with water.

This is the kind of thing kids do for fun in small towns in the middle of nowhere, but it still embarrasses me.

A lot of rap stands as as testament that white males are still so repressed and insecure that they have to elect token black males to express anger, sexuality and violence for them. Odd Future seems to serve this purpose for the faction of white males that are too cool to listen shit like Gucci Mane, but it's the same role.

Yes, what Kerble said. What music I've heard doesn't really do anything for me, but the way they've built this whole media environment is pretty fascinating.

I'm new to this thread, and I haven't combed through the whole thing, but if it hasn't come up already I want to say that Kelefa Sanneh's New Yorker article about Odd Future ("Where's Earl?") is one of the best pieces of music journalism I've read in a long time. I don't know enough about the music to know if he's overrating it--but he did a great job of putting the collective in context, and stretching the context wider than you think. It's not online, unfortunately, but seek it out if you can. It's in the May 23rd issue.

Boombats wrote:A lot of rap stands as as testament that white males are still so repressed and insecure that they have to elect token black males to express anger, sexuality and violence for them. Odd Future seems to serve this purpose for the faction of white males that are too cool to listen shit like Gucci Mane, but it's the same role.

Interesting take on things which is bolstered more by the racial makeup of their fanbase. I don't know Gucci Mane from Wacka Flocka Flame, so what the hell do I know anyway? Alls I do know is that I would have gotten douchechills if were on that bus with Steve, having to apologize for the behavior of my peoples.